Samuel George, the Minister of Communication, Digitalisation Technology and Innovation, has urged the three telecommunications companies in the country to improve quality of service or face sanctions as stipulated in the Ministry’s mandate.

He said the government would ensure that 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the sanction, which was in the form of fines, would be shared with the customers by way of either data or call time on their networks. 

The Minister said this in Accra at a meeting with Chief Executives of the three telecommunications companies in the country.

Mr Stephen Blewelt, Chief Executive of MTN Ghana; Mr Skarlator Leo, Chief Executive of AirtelTigo; and Mr Mohamad Ghaddar, Chief Operating Officer of Telecel attended the meeting.

The meeting was at the back of a survey conducted by the National Communications Authority on customer satisfaction from the telcos in the country.

The survey was conducted in the first quarter of the year, covering 48 localities.

The report, among others, revealed that most customers were not happy with the quality of services being rendered to them by the telcos.

He said the government was currently in negotiations with a strategic partner to revamp and take over AirtelTigo.

“We have started those conversations; we are doing a 60-day window for the completion of those negotiations so that by the end of the third quarter, we could see a full rollout of the improved services on AirtelTigo.”

Mr George announced that the cabinet was giving approval for spectrum to be offered to Telecel and MTN as well to improve their quality of services to the public.

“We are hoping by the end of September 2025, we will want to see the start of the utilisation of the spectrum resources that have been given, and by the end of December 2025, we will want to see a remarkable increase in quality of service.”

On the issue of data pricing, the Minister said the government had set up a committee in February to develop a roadmap that would lead to the reduction in data before the end of December 2025.

“However, we will do this so that we do not create a shock in the ecosystem that affects the planning and viability of investment in the industry.

“We are not going to do this as a one-time shock. It’s going to be a staggered approach to achieving what we want to do until we have a first move on value,” he said.

He said the government would be very happy to see some improvement on the three variables – price, value, and quality – of the three telcos.

Mr George announced that in the first week of July, he would brief the country on value for money from the perspectives of the telcos. 

“An announcement will be made on increased value across all bundle offerings that the network operators give to ensure that Ghanaians get more value for what they are paying,” he said.

He said the government was committed to resetting the sector by ensuring that the right things were done.

“You will remain profitable for those who are profitable. For those who are loss-making, you will become profitable because when people get a better experience, they will spend more,” he said.

The Chief Executives acknowledged the importance of the meeting in charting the path forward towards improving the sector.

They pledged to work assiduously to address the challenges in the sector and meet the deadlines set by the Ministry to improve quality of service.